What I Talk About When I Talk About Running vs. Norwegian Wood

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is a memoir by Haruki Murakami where he talks about two things that define a big part of his life: running and writing. Murakami didn’t always plan on being a novelist. He was running a jazz bar in his twenties when, while watching a baseball game, he suddenly thought, “I could write a novel.” He gave it a shot, it worked out, and he eventually sold his bar to focus on writing full-time. But sitting at a desk all day, smoking and not moving much, wasn’t doing his health any good. That’s when he picked up running. For Murakami, running is more than just exercise—it’s part of his routine and, in a way, a metaphor for writing. Both take endurance. Both are long hauls where you push yourself day after day, even when you don’t feel like it. The book follows him as he trains for marathons, competes in triathlons, and grapples with the slow decline of his physical abilities as he ages. He talks a lot about acceptance—accepting getting older, accept...

Norwegian Wood

Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman. Stunning and elegiac, Norwegian Wood first propelled Haruki Murakami into the forefront of the literary scene.

Reviews

Reviewed on 2/28/2024

I read this book when I first started running long distance. I was living in Chiang Mai and I'd go this huge park a couple of times a week and just run loops around the lake. At the end of my run I'd grab a milk tea and a banana bread from a local coffee shop and just read a few pages. Great memories of many chill evenings, running and reading about running.

Reviews

Pros
ItemVotesUpvote
Easy read1
Motivating1
Peaceful1
Cons
ItemVotesUpvote
No cons yet, would you like to add one?
Pros
ItemVotesUpvote
No pros yet, would you like to add one?
Cons
ItemVotesUpvote
No cons yet, would you like to add one?

Related Content & Alternatives

Related Content & Alternatives

Frequently Asked Questions

@tomasz_fm© 2023 Tomasz Stefaniak
feedback